Intensive Exercise May Keep The Aging Mind Sharp

Melissa Healy

Older Americans who engage in strenuous exercise are more mentally nimble, have better memory function and process information more speedily than do their more sedentary peers, new research suggests. As they continued to age, participants who were very physically active at the start of a five-year study lost less ground cognitively than did couch potatoes, according to the study.

The latest research published in the journal Neurology, is the most recent study to underscore the importance of moderate to intensive exercise in healthy aging. In addition to keeping diabetes, heart disease and osteoporosis at bay or in check, studies suggest a good workout is powerful medicine for the aging brain, preventing and treating depression and shoring up cognitive function.

The study’s lead author, University of Miami neurologist Clinton B. Wright said “You need to do a significant amount of exercise and get your heart rate up to fit into the moderate-to-heavy category.”

When researchers looked only at subjects who had no evidence of cognitive impairment when they enrolled in the study, they found a stark difference in memory function between the highly active and those who engaged in either no leisure-time physical activity or only light intensity activity: After five years, exercisers were the equivalent of 10 years younger than the light- and non-exercisers on measures of “episodic memory” function - the ability to recall past experiences and autobiographical information.

The new research also suggests that vascular health is a key link between physical and mental fitness as we age. The health of our blood vessels is likely influenced by the exercise we do; in turn, the health of those vessels affects our mental agility as we age as well. Having risk factors for stroke - most notably hypertension - effectively contributes to accelerated brain-aging as well. Exercise might also facilitate the release of hormones that protect the brain as it ages, he added.

Mayo Clinic cardiologist Virend Somers said the new research may show, as many observational studies do, that cognitively healthier people are more likely to engage in healthy behaviors, such as exercise, that in turn maintain their brain health. “Given its cost-free nature and the myriad other benefits of exercise, I think we should assume it helps until definitively shown otherwise,” said Somers. “We do know it’s going to lower blood pressure, lower cardiovascular risk, maintain lean muscle mass and counter against frailty.”

Somers added that for many, such exercise is a social occasion. And research suggests that social interaction is the antidote for isolation and loneliness, which can be cognitively toxic and is linked to higher rates of dementia.